4:3 may not be great for movies, but it has benefits for many other things. I have an HP TouchPad with Android CM 10.0 on it (Jelly Bean 4.1.2). With 4:3 AR, I find that landscape is much more usable than tablets that are 16:9 at the same size. Apps that can't handle that AR are extremely rare now, as Android scales pretty well when programming guidelines are followed correctly.

Now, as far as the tablet pictured above.. THAT BEZEL!!! That's very 2011-ish... Reply

Yeah, "That Bezel" is going to turn many people off!. I hope Acer as more sense than to make an "old model" looking tablet. 4:3 aspect ratio is just perfect as people using iPad Mini found out. It is great for reading which is 85% of the time anyone uses a tablet. The rest is others, even in movies the screen looks great and can be scaled if one wishes, so there is flexibility but 4:3 is the best use of the real-estate which fits the way our eyes see a book/computer. If the IPS display is high quality, it will do well. Reply

4x3 (and 16:10) devices are usually given larger diagonals in order to match the vertical length of comparable 16:9 devices. Meaning, in landscape, the picture on a movie is the same size. The black bars are just black bars that harm nothing, and then after the movie magically turn into extra screen real estate and better text viewing.

Obviously this comment doesn't account for how the manufacturer decides to handle screen resolution. I'm just talking about some of the advantages of the form factor itself.Reply

What do you mean you'"d like to see 16:10 screens"? Most Android tablets have 16:10 screens currently, 1280x800 and 1920x1200 resolutions mostly. And since Android has a soft navigation bar, it means that in landscape, the usable screen is actually very close to 16:9, while in portrait it's a bit squarer than 16:10.Reply

That would kill the Android market to all other companies.If google want to promote Android, it should't be by turning it umprofitable, just make some real nice tablets at a nice price to earn your moneyReply

I love the full-featured, affordable, 4:3 8-inch tablet. I'm likely to buy one unless there's a big problem, like it last 2 hours on battery and takes 12 hours to charge (very unlikely, especially since Acer has done well with battery life on its Iconia lineup).

I just wish they did like the Galaxy Note 8 and added capacitive or hardware buttons on the bezel in order to remove the navigation bar and maximize the use of the 4:3 screen.Reply